August Newsreel: P&GJ Web Updates, Kitimat LNG-Gas Natural MOU, Dresser Aquires iMeter B.V., CO Last Ranking for Energy Investment

Interest in natural emissions of methane from Arctic environments has grown from an environmental perspective and as a possible tool to prospect for conventional gas and also methane hydrate. Methane hydrates occur naturally in deepwater marine environments, and in Arctic regions beneath thick permafrost, and may represent a potential very large long-term source of energy. However, methane hydrates may also be a significant natural source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, potentially exacerbating climate warming. Estimates of the global methane hydrates resource vary considerably, but the consensus is that the energy potential of methane hydrates exceeds that of all other conventional hydrocarbon resources combined.

The development of the realSensTM technology is supported in part by Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arms-length not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada. Natural Resources Canada and other Government of Canada initiatives also provided financial support.

Enterprise Central Treating Plant Receives Natural Gas

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. said initial volumes of natural gas have begun flowing into its new Central Treating Facility (CTF) in Rio Blanco County, CO. Located eight miles south of the partnership’s Meeker natural gas-processing complex, the CTF has capacity of 200 MMcf/d and is dedicated to ExxonMobil’s properties in the Piceance Basin, which produce 100 MMcf/d.

Natural gas delivered to the CTF is treated to remove impurities and compressed for transportation to Meeker, where Enterprise will have the option to use its stand-alone 200 MMcf/d dewpoint control plant for processing, or route the natural gas through one of Enterprise’s larger cryogenic processing units. The cryogenic processing capacity of the Meeker complex is 1.5 Bcf/d, allowing it to extract as much as 70,000 bpd of natural gas liquids.

The separation of NGLs makes the processed natural gas acceptable for delivery into interstate transmission pipelines accessible to producers through the White River Hub, which is jointly owned by Enterprise and Questar Pipeline Co. Using Enterprise’s Mid-America Pipeline and Seminole systems, the NGLs extracted at the Meeker complex can be delivered to the partnership’s Hobbs and Mont Belvieu, TX fractionation sites.

Meeker and the new CTF are prominent features of a 30-year midstream services agreement Enterprise has entered into with ExxonMobil, which has estimated 45 Tcf of potential natural gas resources on its acreage in the Piceance Basin.

Report Suggests Oil Shale Is Reliable, Affordable, Secure Energy Source

Research has revealed that oil shale, which is a type of rock rich in kerogen, can be converted into high quality liquid fuels, according to an analysis by the National Center for Policy Analysis.